Out Of Left Field: The Making of The Chinese Baseball Team

Network: PBS

Welcome to Out of Left Field – a rollicking documentary that follows the stories of the Chinese Olympic Baseball Team, their American coaches and their journey to make sports history. China has never had an Olympic baseball team, but in 2008 it’s guaranteed – the host nation does not have to qualify its teams to participate in a sport. Out of Left Field is a remarkable glimpse into this world – a first-of-its-kind opportunity to see the emergence of a sport in a nation that once considered baseball “cultural pollution.” Jim Lefebvre, former player and coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is in charge of turning Chinese players with limited skills into Olympic-caliber athletes. Along with a handful of other retired pros – and with the cooperation of Major League Baseball – they are helping to bring America’s game to a nation with one-fifth of the world’s population.